Speculating

- I suppose/guess she’s a bit lonely.

- I’d say she doesn’t look very surprised. 
- I think she could be/could have been an only
child.  
- I think/reckon she’s probably an actress.
- It seems to me that she’s a bit lonely.
- It looks as though he’s very angry.
- He gives the impression of being relaxed.
- If you asked me, I’d say she was happy with her
life.
 Speculating
- If I had to make a guess, I’d say she was happy
with her life story.
- I’d definitely say that he’s not telling us everything.
- I’m pretty sure he’s not telling us all the truth.
- I’d hazard a guess that she’s an only child.    
- It might suggest (that) he is guilty.
- It makes me think (that) maybe she knows the
truth.
- It seems like she has no alternative. 
- It looks to me as if he has no alternative.
 Speculating
- He appears to be… -
There’s something about her that makes me
nervous.
- I wonder what he/ she’ll do next.
- I’m not sure whether this photo is meant to
illustrate… -I
can’t tell who/where/what/whether… -I
can’t tell you whether the person is a young boy or a
man, but… - These
people could be…
- He/she could / must / might be …
- He could be lost, but I’m not sure.
- They must be…They can’t be…She may be…
- It must be winter. It must be spring.
- It might suggest (that) he’s furious.
 Giving your opinion:
I think
I reckon
In my opinion / In my view
It seems to me / All things considered
If you ask me
To tell you the truth / To be honest / frank
Personally
To my mind / As far as I'm concerned
neutral form
a more informal way of giving your opinion
a more formal way of giving your opinion
Expressing your opinion, after having thought
carefully about a given situation
Giving an often critical opinion
Highlighting the fact that you’re about to give your
own view.
Expressing your own opinion, when you know other
people may not agree with you.
 Giving your opinion:

⚫ I am of the opinion that ...

⚫ I feel very strongly that ...
⚫ I am convinced that ...
⚫ I am very much in favour of/against ...
⚫ I am completely opposed to ...
 Examples:
⚫ I think if you work hard, you'll pass your final exams.
⚫ It'll be cheaper to take the bus, I reckon.
⚫ In my view, it was a big mistake not to buy the new house last year.
⚫ In my opinion, everyone should have some understanding of finance.  
⚫ Everyone should, in my opinion, have some understanding of finance.
⚫ It seems to me that Peter’s plans for the company are very convincing. 
⚫ All things considered, I think it was a good idea to cancel our flights.
⚫ If you ask me, both Johan and Simon are being extremely immature.
⚫ To be honest/To tell you the truth/To be frank, I thought the show
was pretty awful.
⚫ Personally, I think you shouldn’t behave like that.
⚫ To my mind, the way he behaved in class was inconsiderate. 
⚫ As far as I'm concerned, badminton is a much more interesting sport
than football.
 SPECULATING - VAGUE LANGUAGE

Nouns: thing, stuff, bit.

There’s something in the way he looks that strikes me.

Quantifiers: one or two, a few, a couple of, a lot of, plenty of, loads of, a bit (of).

There’s a bit of dust on his desk.

Numbers: around/about fifty, fifty-something, more or less, fifty or so.

He’s about forty-ish.

Generalisers: like, kind of, sort of, you know.

He looks sort of intellectual.

He’s like a creative.
List completers: and so on, and stuff, or something (like that).

He could perfectly be a model, or something like that.

Useful connectors to speculate
• Perhaps he feels…
• It makes me think that maybe he knows the
place.
• Apparently,…
• Judging by the fact that…
• To judge from his/her posture,…
• To judge from the clothes they’re
wearing...
• From what I can gather, there’s been some
kind of problem.
• As far as I am concerned,...